Unbound has established itself as the world’s premier gravel race and the 2022 event, set to take place on Saturday 4 June, will attract a stacked field featuring gravel specialists and former road pros.
Among them will be Nathan Haas, who will ride this custom Colnago G3-X in the 200-mile race through the Flint Hills of Kansas.
The G3-X was launched as Colnago’s gravel bike in 2019 and was ridden to Unbound victory by women's champion Lauren De Crescenzo in last year’s race.
Haas, who has ridden for Garmin-Barracuda, Team Dimension Data, Katusha-Alpecin and Cofidis in a decade-long WorldTour career, made the switch to the rough stuff ahead of the 2022 campaign, joining the fast-growing gravel racing scene.
The 33-year-old’s bike for Unbound is the second in a series of five custom designs being ridden by the Australian through the season.
It features an 'art decor'-inspired design that will be broadly familiar to Colnago fans, having featured on iconic bikes such as the Colnago Master.
The design features an image of a cyclist on the top tube and takes inspiration from the colours of the Kansas flag.
It also includes the phrase "ad astra per aspera", the motto of Kansas in Latin, which translates to "through the roughness to the stars”.
The chrome finish to the fork is rather smart, too.
Haas' gravel bike is equipped with a 1x13-speed Campagnolo Ekar groupset and Campagnolo's new Levante gravel wheels, wrapped in Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres. There's also a 3D-printed Fizik Versus Evo saddle.
Colnago has pedigree in cyclocross, having supported two-time world champion Sven Nys for 15 years and the G3-X represents the brand’s diversion into gravel.
Compared to the Colnago Prestige cyclocross bike, the G3-X’s geometry has been designed to accommodate wider tyres, with clearance for 700×42mm or 650b×47mm rubber. The geometry also places a greater emphasis on stability and comfort.
Haas’ 2022 gravel campaign will also include The BWR North Carolina (USA) on 11 June, The Rift (Iceland) on 23 July and SBT GRVL (USA) on 14 August.
The men's field at Unbound 2022 also includes former winners Peter Stetina, Ted King and Ian Boswell – all ex-road pros.
While the racing primarily focuses on the 200-mile event, five distances are on offer: 350 miles, 200 miles, 100 miles, 50 miles and 25 miles, all starting from the town of Emporia, Kansas. Nearly 4,000 riders are registered for the 2022 event.
